An 8-km GIMMS NDVI record (1982–2011) was resampled to 1 km spatial resolution.
Areas above 3000 m a.s.l. largely reveal markedly increasing (greening) NDVI trends.
Fire disturbance results in a partial downward migration of subalpine vegetation.
The regional vegetation activity strongly responds to ENSO and IOD teleconnections.
Strongest impacts on vegetation activity occurred during coupled El Niño/IOD events.